


Up to No Good

by cloudrains, punkrockbadger, SarahSelene, skindyedblue



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: LGBTQ Character, Male Character of Color, Marauders, Marauders' Era, POC Potter, Racism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 18:39:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3947506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudrains/pseuds/cloudrains, https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkrockbadger/pseuds/punkrockbadger, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahSelene/pseuds/SarahSelene, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skindyedblue/pseuds/skindyedblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story we all know, but still love to read. Four boys start school at Hogwarts, and the rest is history.</p><p>UTNG has four authors, one for each of the Marauders. We change perspectives every chapter, and update on a loose schedule, hopefully once a week.<br/>elliotasterion (queermarauders) = Sirius Black<br/>SarahSelene (mysteriousremus) = Remus Lupin<br/>skindyedblue (braveremus) = Peter Pettigrew<br/>highandlonelydestiny (desiprongspotter) = James Potter</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sirius

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was written by elliotasterion who can be found at queermarauders on tumblr.

The giant scarlet engine was more awe inspiring and beautiful than Sirius had ever imagined. He could not believe it was finally happening. He was going to Hogwarts. He let out a long breath, and nearly jumped out of his skin when his mother touched his shoulder. He turned to look at her, at those familiar pale eyes and the dark hair she had pulled back into a tight bun. She pulled out her handkerchief, licking it with the end of her tongue before bringing it to his face and wiping a smudge from it. “Alright, Sirius. Tell me what we talked about one last time.”

Sirius took a deep breath, for a moment picturing himself out of his body, watching as the breath entered him, and he could feel the magic in the air tingle through him. “My name is Sirius Black, heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. I am the best wizard at this school, and now is my time to show it. I will make my family proud.”

“That’s right, my love,” his mother said, moving and kissing his forehead. “You be a good boy, and we will be very proud of you.” She smoothed back the hair on his head. “You should get on the train, Sirius. If you are late, it will reflect badly.”

Sirius smiled up at her and he nodded. “I’ll see you at Christmas, Mother.” He waved to her and turned, walking away to the train. He grinned, striding confidently towards the train. His first day of Hogwarts. He could not wait to see the Slytherin common room, he had been imagining it most of his life. He could not help but wonder if the other common rooms looked like how his father had described Slytherin’s, but he suspected that he would not see them unless he broke a few rules. He was almost to the train, when suddenly he was cut off by another boy, with light brown curls, and only an inch or two shorter than Sirius himself.

“Oi!” Sirius cried out, stopping suddenly, looking at the boy who turned on his heels. “Watch where you’re going, you tosser! You could have hit me!”

The pale boy jumped, looking horribly embarrassed and shifted towards the train. “I-I’m sorry, I didn-“

“Yeah, whatever.” Sirius shoved past the boy, not seeing that he stumbled back onto his trunk, before climbing onto the train. He moved through the compartments, looking for an empty one, or at least one that did not have anyone who would make him look as if he made friends with the wrong sort of people in it.

He paused when he spotted a boy with dark skin and unruly hair that made him look like he was on the wrong end of a blast-ended skrewt. His clothes were nicely pressed and he was already in his robes, and not the Muggle clothes as so many of the others were. There was something awfully familiar about him, though Sirius could not place him at the moment. He moved in putting on his most charming smile, which came from years of training and practice, before he spoke his first words, “Hello, is this carriage taken?”

The other boy turned his hazel eyes towards Sirius and he put on a bright smile. “No, I’m the only one here.”

Sirius took a seat beside him. “I’m Sirius.”

He extended his hand and the other boy shook it firmly. “James. Do you think we’ll have this place to ourselves?”

“I doubt it.” Sirius said knowingly. “Father says the train is always full.” As if to prove his point, the compartment door slid open.

Sirius turned to look, sitting up straighter when he saw the odd boy from the station. The strange boy’s amber eyes widened when he spotted Sirius and he quickly backed up. “S-Sorry, wrong compartment.” With that he slammed the door closed and left in a hurry.

“Who was that?” James asked, looking over at Sirius. “Someone you know?”

“Nah,” Sirius said. “Just some wanker at the station. Ran right into me. I’m probably going to bruise, stupid tosser…”

“Do you always talk like that?” James asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Only when my Mum’s not around,” Sirius said with a growing smirk. “She’d get really angry if she heard me talking like that, so I’ve got to get it all out now, haven’t I? Before I go back home and have to speak civilly again.” That got a laugh out of James, and Sirius was pleased.

Next moment, the door was opening again and two first years were coming into the compartment, the shorter one straining to lift his trunk into the overhead compartment. They both sat down, talking excitedly to one another.

“I’m Thomas. Do you either of you boys know any magic?” the taller of the two asked. He had a thick Scottish accent and brandished his wand expertly. “I’ve been practicing all summer, and da says I’m great at stunning spells.”

“You can’t use a wand outside of school.” James said indignantly, looking to Sirius for support. Sirius only shrugged.

“I use my parents’ sometimes.”

The Scottish boy seemed to take this as a challenge. “Right, show us something then.”  

Sirius smirked and drew his wand from his robe pocket. He pointed it straight at the other boy, whose eyes widened, and he slid against the door of the compartment.

“Rictumsempra.” he said smoothly, just as he had seen Andromeda do it. The other boy looked shocked for a split second, and then was swept away by a fit of laughter, clutching at his sides. It didn’t last as long as he would have liked, in only a few moments it faded away. Nonetheless, the other boys looked impressed.

“I thought you were going to hex me!” he grinned. “What’s the spell again?”

Sirius taught it to them, and soon enough, the three of them were sending weak spells of laughter at one another, and jumping from seat to seat to avoid the others’ wands. Sirius ended up in the corner of the compartment, crossing his legs while they dueled, smirking to himself.

* * *

 

It wasn’t long, though, before a few other students came to sit in the compartment, and they were left to halfheartedly shoving one another across the seats, still laughing as the train pulled away. Suddenly, James put a hand on Thomas’ arm to still him, looking across at the other students. A boy with greasy black hair and a distinctly Muggle shirt was speaking to a troubled looking girl with dark red hair hanging in her face.

“You’d better be in Slytherin.” the boy said, smiling at her. He had not noticed that the rest of the compartment was now watching him.

“Slytherin?” James said, and the other two boys had to hide their laughter. “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”

“My whole family have been in Slytherin.” Sirius said, realizing suddenly that he might have made friends with someone that wouldn’t be in his house.

“Blimey!” said James, “and I thought you seemed alright!”

Sirius couldn’t help but grin at that.

“Maybe I’ll break the tradition.” he joked. “Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?”

James lifted an invisible sword, looking proudly over at the greasy haired boy.

“‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.”

The greasy haired boy scoffed.

“Got a problem with that?” James said, frowning over at him.

“No,” the boy sneered, and Sirius disliked him immediately. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy-”

“Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” he interrupted, and grinned when James burst into laughter. The greasy haired boy’s lip curled, and the girl with him glared at them.

“Come on, Severus, let’s find another compartment.” she said loftily, and James laughed again.

“Ooooo, another compartment…” Sirius imitated, and James followed his lead. The other two rushed out of the compartment, looking indignant.

“See ya, Snivellus!” Sirius called, and met James’ smile with his own.

 

 


	2. Remus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UTNG has four authors, one for each of the Marauders. We change perspectives every chapter, and update on a loose schedule, hopefully once a week.  
> elliotasterion (queermarauders) = Sirius Black  
> SarahSelene (mysteriousremus) = Remus Lupin  
> skindyedblue (braveremus) = Peter Pettigrew  
> highandlonelydestiny (desiprongspotter) = James Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by SarahSelene who can be found at mysteriousremus on tumblr.

It had finally sunk in for Remus Lupin. Just now, it hit him: He was going to Hogwarts. He thought he might be sick. He swallowed down his nausea and looked up at his father, who was standing rather quietly behind him. His father’s arm was around his mother’s waist, and Remus’ heart quickened when he realized this would be the last time he would see them for a while. He had never been away from them before. “Da?” Remus asked quietly, biting his bottom lip a bit. “Da, I don’t think I can do this…” He bit his lip harder as his father slid his arm from his mother’s waist, who looked at her son quietly with a small smile.

His father knelt down to his level slowly, a warm smile on his lips, before he reached out and touched Remus’ shoulder. “Remus,” his father said in a tone that matched the warmth of his smile. “I know you’re nervous. I understand that you’re nervous, makes sense. I would be too.” His father let out a breath through his nose, and his smile grew. “But you are a wonderful, intelligent, kind boy. You deserve to have a good life with good friends, and good schooling. This is your chance, and if you really need to come home, you can. You have to take the chance though, okay?” 

The boy let out a long breath before he nodded. “Okay.” He put on a smile for his dad and he moved close, hugging him tight. “Thanks, Da.” Remus felt himself relax as his dad hugged him back, feeling very warm and comfortable. He looked up when his father pulled away and was quickly replaced by his mother, who buried her face into Remus’ shoulder. 

“You are the most wonderful boy,” His mother said quietly. “I’m going to miss you.” She pulled away and reached up, her thumb brushing away some dirt on his cheek. “You promise you’ll write to me? I want to know everything. Hogwarts sounds so wonderful.” 

“I’m going to write,” Remus promised. “At least once a week. I promise.” He smiled and he kissed her cheek happily. “I should go.” He looked at the watch on his wrist. “I’m going to be late.” He smiled at his mother again. “I can do this.” 

“Yes you can,” His mum said, moving back and standing up. “Off you go.” 

Remus smiled and he waved to them before he turned to get on the train. He was nearly to the door, when a voice made him nearly leap out of his trainers. “Oi!” Remus spun around on his heels, heart slamming in his chest as he did. He came face-to-face with a pale boy with black hair and pale eyes, glaring at him. “Watch where you’re going, you tosser! You could have hit me!” 

Remus blinked in confusion, racking his brain to try to figure out how he had not seen the other boy. His cheeks flushed bright red and he started speaking before he could get his thoughts together. “I-I’m sorry, I didn-“ 

“Yeah, whatever,” the other body said, and suddenly Remus was stumbling backwards. He felt as his foot caught on his trunk and he fell with a heavy ‘oof’ onto it. He watched the boy’s retreating back and he let out a shaky breath. 

“Nice going, Remus,” Remus said to himself. “First day around people and you’ve already upset someone.” That’s when he noticed people were starting to stare at him. He must have looked a complete fool, sitting on his trunk, red faced, and talking to himself. He quickly scrambled off the trunk. There were too many eyes on him, far too many. His face burned hotter, going onto the train as quickly as he could with his head down. He could not do this. He was not meant to be a wizard, everyone was just making a dreadful mistake. 

He took a minute to stop in the train, leaning against the wall to let a stream of people pass him. He took the moment to pull himself together. He could do it. So many people believed he could. He could not take this one mistake to mean that he was a failure overall. Remus straightened up as the students finally past him and he put on a smile. He was going to do this. He walked down the hall, looking at all the full carriages, before he opened the door of the first not-full one he saw. He moved to go inside… when he saw that same pale boy again. “S-sorry, wrong compartment,” Remus stuttered out before he slammed the door shut and ran for the back of the train as fast as his legs could carry him. 

The boy finally stopped near the end of the train, leaning over and panting. It was a lot quieter back there, though he doubt it would last. He swallowed and he opened another door. The pale boy could not possibly be in _two_ carriages. He moved in, letting out a breath when he saw a shorter boy sitting near the window, blonde hair shining in the light. “Oh… Um, hello,” Remus said, moving in quietly. “Sorry, I thought this compartment was empty.” 

“Nope, sorry,” the boy said, smiling brightly towards him. “It’s just me though, if that’s alright.” 

“That’s fine,” Remus said politely with a smile, putting the trunk up on the rack. “I was more worried that I would bother you, personally…” He swallowed hard. “I’m not really used to being around this many people…” 

“I understand that. It feels like all of London is on this train,” the other boy said with the same bright tone. He reached over and he held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Peter Pettigrew.” 

Remus looked at the hand, sitting across from Peter before he took Peter’s hand, a small smile spreading on his face. “I’m Remus Lupin. It’s nice to meet you, Peter.” A silence fell between them, Peter looking out the window, watching the people mill around the platform. “So um… Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?” Remus immediately regretted the question as soon as it left his mouth. Of course Peter was excited, everyone was excited. Even Remus was excited, despite all the nervousness. 

“Oh yeah!” Peter said with a grin, either not noticing or ignoring the stupidity of Remus’ question. “I mean… I am, I really am. My mum talks about Hogwarts all the time. She says they were some of the best years of her life. I’m also rather nervous, y’know?” Peter looked at him, his smile only faltering slightly. “I’ve never been away from my family this long… and I’m kind of used to my mum doing a lot of stuff for me. It’s kind of nice to get away from her though, y’know? I get to be off on my own… and that’s exciting and a bit scary.” 

Relief flooded Remus quickly, spreading from his chest to the tips of his fingers. “Yeah, I understand that.” Remus’ small smile spread, careful not to show his teeth. “I’ve never been away from my family either. My Da almost never talked about Hogwarts either. We were worried I wouldn’t get in.” 

“Oh?” Peter asked, blinking at him. “Are you Muggleborn?” Remus shook his head. “Were they worried you were a squib?” 

“Y-yeah…” Remus said, face turning red again. 

“Hey!” Peter said, his grin coming back. “Hey, there’s no shame in that. At least you aren’t, right? My mum would probably have loved if I was a squib. Then I would have been able to stay home and be her little boy forever.” Peter suddenly turned, pulling out a sandwich from his pocket. “One thing good about my mum though is she makes the best sandwiches. Roast beef. She always puts extra mustard on mine though. It makes it kind of over powering to eat a whole one, y’know?” Peter smiled over at Remus. “Do you want to split it with me?” 

“I can’t take your food,” Remus said, feeling uncomfortable. The smile on Peter’s face faltered a bit. Remus felt even worse than he did, and that is when he remembered. He reached into his pocket and he pulled out his own sandwich, a BLT that got a little smashed during his fall onto his trunk. “But um… we could trade halves? It’s probably not the best sandwich ever, but it is good… I know it doesn’t look its best right now. I kind of… tripped on the platform. It’s still good though, if you… want to trade.” 

“Deal.” Peter’s grin had returned and he unwrapped his sandwich, pulling out half of the sandwich and handing it over to Remus. Remus looked at the sandwich before he unwrapped his own, taking out half and trading it with Peter’s. “I love bacon,” Peter said with a smile. 

“Thank you,” Remus said, looking at the sandwich. He did not even like roast beef, it was too over cooked and usually very dry. This sandwich was undoubtedly no different. He lifted his acquaintance’s sandwich to his lips and he took a bite from it. Remus had not been wrong. The roast beef was a little tough, and a tad too dry. The mustard was strong, and he could smell it in the back of his throat. It was, however, the best sandwich the Lupin boy had ever tasted in his entire life. A smile spread over Remus’ face and he looked at Peter. “This is really good.” 

“Thanks!” Peter spoke with a grin. “Just wait until I tell my mum that a random person on the train loves her sandwich.” He looked out the window and he grinned. “Hey, we’re moving!” 

Remus looked out the window to confirm that they were in fact moving and he leaned forward, getting a better view as the platform whisked away. The butterflies in Remus’ stomach started fluttering wildly. “Here we go…” Remus said quietly. Even though the comment was to himself, he could see Peter’s grin in the corner of his vision. At least Remus was not alone in this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, we appreciate you reading! We’d love to hear your feedback either here or on tumblr.


	3. Peter

There were so many people. All of them milling about the platform, parents and grandparents and siblings waving goodbye, students hauling behind them oversized trunks and owls in cages. Several carriage windows facing the platform were open, children a little older than him leaning out to say their last goodbyes. Peter’s anxiety felt like a stone settling in his gut. What if they didn’t like him? What if he got there and his father was right? Peter chewed on his bottom lip. He’d received his Hogwarts letter, that had to mean he was magical enough. Didn’t it? The whistle blew loudly and he jumped. Hefting his trunk, he was about to board the Express when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Promise me that you’ll write, Peter. Tell me all about it.”

His mother’s expression was kind, and he tried to ignore the way her lips were pressed together in a thinning line. Peter hugged her tightly, putting on his very best smile. “Of course I will, Mum. I’ll write you tonight and tell you which house I get into and everything.”

“Good. Remember to do well in your lessons, listen to your professors.” She smoothed his hair back, her voice soft. “Your father is sorry that he couldn’t come to see you off too. He is so proud of you.”

Peter bit the inside of his cheek, looking away from her. They both knew it was a lie. His father would have been far more pleased if he never went to Hogwarts at all or did anything wizarding. Growing up he hadn’t shown much in the way of magical talent and suspected that he might even be a squib. That is, until he accidentally blew up their kettle during one of his parents louder rows. His father had nearly thrown a fit when Peter’s letter came, refusing to come along to collect his robes and books from Diagon Alley. It wasn’t much of a surprise that he wouldn’t come along to see him off, either.

His mother gave a little sigh and leaned in close, kissing his cheek. “He is proud of you, Peter. We both are.” Peter squirmed with embarrassment but his mother hadn’t let go of him yet, her grip on his shoulder tightening painfully. The train’s whistle blew again and he gave a little yelp.

“Mum, I’m going to be late!” He sounded far more cheerful than he felt, wiggling out of her grasp finally. He’d only made it a few steps before looking back. She was close to crying and Peter felt a moment of doubt. Maybe it would be best if he stayed with her instead, what would she do without him there? He was about to voice his concerns when he saw her nod, just the once, a tremulous smile in place.

Squaring his shoulders he dragged his trunk along, looking for a way to climb aboard. There were several train doors with students shuffling their way on, and he walked toward a door nearer to the engine but quailed. A boy, maybe a little taller than him with light brown hair, had been shoved back from the door as several other students made their way on. He looked nearly as terrified as Peter felt. Glancing down the train he spotted a sort of queue forming at the back, it was mostly older students from the looks of it, but none of them were quite as loud or pushy.

Walking quickly he got in line, nervously smiling whenever another student looked at him. It took him several tries to get both he and his trunk situated, nearly tripping over it when a corner got caught on one of the carriage doorways. He tried to pull it free but it wouldn’t budge. The carriage door behind Peter opened with a loud bang and he jumped. It was an older boy, with a green and silver tie -- Slytherin, Peter realized -- and shiny badge with the letter “P” on it, stepping out of his carriage and climbing over Peter’s trunk. He gave on hard yank, righting it easily. Peter was about to say thank you when the older boy returned to his carriage without a backwards glance, shutting the door behind him.  

“I-I got it now…” He said to no one in particular, smiling widely at two older students as they slipped past, whispering among themselves. He walked further down the train, hoping to find an empty seat, but all the carriages were full. His stomach gave a little flop and he walked a little faster, not wanting to draw any further attention to himself.

Tugging his trunk further along he finally found an empty compartment, gratefully shoving his trunk under his seat and letting out a slow breath. There were still students boarding, talking happily among themselves. Peter fidgeted, wanting the train to start moving already, before he had the opportunity to change his mind and run back to his mum. Worrying his bottom lip he craned his neck, trying to spot his mother in the crowd.

The door slid open again and Peter turned, eyes widening. It was the boy from earlier. He looked as nervous as Peter felt.

“Oh… Um, hello.” He said, shifting nervously and looking further down the corridor before glancing back at Peter. “Sorry, I thought this compartment was empty.”

“Nope, sorry.” Peter replied, putting on his brightest smile. “It’s just me though, if that’s alright.”

“That’s fine.” The other boy said, smiling back shyly. It took a few tries for him to put his trunk up on the rack before sitting down. “I was more worried that I would bother you, personally. I’m not really used to being around this many people…” He shifted a little, his voice tapering off.

He kept fiddling with his hands, not quite looking Peter in the eye. It reminded him of his mother and he felt his heart give a little twist, eyes flicking back out towards the gathering of parents still waving their farewells outside.

“I understand that. It feels like all of London is on this train!” Peter tried to make his tone light, stretching out his hand. “Hi, I’m Peter Pettigrew.”

The smile on the other boy’s face turned genuine as they shook hands. “I’m Remus Lupin. It’s nice to meet you, Peter.”

Peter nodded, looking back toward the platform again. His mother had been wearing a light green dress, but all he could see were reds and blues and blacks. She had to be there somewhere, he thought. It wasn’t like her to not wave goodbye.

“So um…” Remus’ voice interrupted his thoughts. “Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?”

“Oh, yeah!” Peter laughed, leaning forward his elbows resting on his knees. “I mean --  I am, I really am. My mum talks about Hogwarts all the time. She says they were some of the best years of her life. I’m also rather nervous, y’know?” He felt his smile slip a little and glanced out the window again before continuing on. “I’ve never been away from my family this long. I’m kind of used to my mum doing a lot of stuff for me. It’s kind of nice to get away from her though, y’know? I get to be off on my own, it’s exciting and a bit scary.”

He shut his mouth quickly, realizing that he had been rambling. Remus would think him an utter idiot, no doubt. However, instead of laughing at him as expected, the other boy let out a sigh of relief, his posture relaxing for the first time since entering the carriage. “Yeah, I understand that. I’ve never been away from my family either.” He smiled at Peter. “My Da almost never talked about Hogwarts either. We were worried I wouldn’t get in.”

“Oh? Are you Muggleborn?” He asked, but Remus quickly shook his head. “Were they worried you were a squib?”

A red flush was creeping Remus’ neck and his voice went quiet again. “Y-yeah…”

“Hey!” Peter grinned, relief flooding him that his family wasn’t the only one who’d had such worries. “There’s no shame in that. At least you aren’t, right? My mum would probably have loved if I was a squib. Then I would have been able to stay home and be her little boy forever.”

Remus still looked nervous and Peter tried to think of something else to say. Feeling in his pocket he found the sandwiches that his mum had made that morning. Tugging one out he giggled nervously. “One thing good about my mum though is she makes the best sandwiches. Roast beef. She always puts extra mustard on mine though. It makes it kind of overpowering to eat a whole one, y’know?” Peter wrinkled his nose for added effect.

In truth, he loved the way she made his sandwiches. Ever since he was little she always  cut them into neat triangles, wrapping them in wax paper. Peter realized with a jolt that this was the last time until at least Christmas he’d have one. Forcing the emotions down, he smiled at Remus offering him half.

“Do you want to split it with me?”

“I can’t take your food,” Remus said, looking away from him.

Peter kept his smile in place, setting the sandwich down and looking away. Who would want a roast beef with extra mustard anyways? He’d been stupid to even make the offer. He was about to try one last time to catch sight of his mum when Remus cleared his throat quietly. He was holding out half of what looked like a squashed BLT.

“But um… we could trade halves? It’s probably not the best sandwich ever, but it is good. I know it doesn’t look its best right now. I kind of… tripped on the platform. It’s still good though, if you want to trade.”

“Deal.” Peter said, unwrapping his and handing half the sandwich over to Remus. He felt worry gnaw at his gut when Remus carefully examined it. He was about to change his mind and ask for it back when the other boy handed half of his smooshed sandwich over, looking hopeful. Taking it he smiled, saying the first thing that came to mind. “I love bacon.”

“Thank you,” Remus said, still eyeing the half that Peter had swapped.

He took a large bite of the BLT hoping that the Remus would follow suit. It wasn’t bad; Peter thought. There was more lettuce and less bacon that he would have preferred, and the tomatoes were squished, but it still tasted alright.

“This is really good.” Remus said after risking a bite.

“Thanks.” Peter grinned. “Just wait until I tell my mum that a random person on the train loves her sandwich.” He looked out the window and felt the train lurch forward. The platform was gradually slipping away, it took a few seconds for Peter to realize what was happening.

“Hey, we’re moving!” His voice sounding far more eager than he felt. Remus muttered something under his breath that Peter couldn’t quite hear, but from the look on his face the other boy felt just as nervous as he did. There was no turning back now. By that evening, they would be at Hogwarts.


	4. James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by highandlonelydestiny who can be found at desiprongspotter on tumblr. 
> 
> A glossary of terms used can be found at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 4

James

[glossary at the end]

 

“Amma?” James asked, as his mother smoothed down his hair for the umpteenth time. No matter what anyone did to it, it seemed to like standing straight up in the back and staying that way, and James had long since accepted that it was a lost cause. At least it didn’t stick out to the side, like his father’s did. That was funny, especially in the mornings. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? Without me and all?”

 

“We’re going to be just fine.” She pinched his cheeks, tears already filling her brown eyes, and James cast a glance around at his future classmates before hurriedly wrapping his arms around her. He was already very nearly her height, at eleven, but he knew not to bring it up, as she was very much prone to crying about her now grown up baby. And he wasn’t a baby, not by far. No, he was eleven and a half, almost. Almost a man, by his reckoning, even though his father said he had a few years to go on that front. “Say goodbye to Appa and then you should get going. You can’t be late for the train, now, or you’ll be home with us for another year.”

 

“We can’t have that.” His father rolled his eyes, earning himself a glare. His mother may not be very intimidating at first glance, especially when compared to his father, who was tall with a Beater’s build, but there was nothing that terrified his father quite like her. “Of course we’d like to keep our boy another year, but look at him. He wants to go off, do big kid things. Right, James?”

 

Being called James so often in one day was odd, but he knew his parents were just trying to prepare him for school, when he’d be called it all the time. Speaking English all the time was exhausting enough, and he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to do it for an entire term without slipping up somewhere. It was probably a matter of habit. He’d figure it out.

 

The train’s whistle blew suddenly and James very nearly jumped out of his skin, coaxing a laugh out of his normally quiet father. “Can’t let things like train whistles scare you if you’re going to be such a big boy now, kanna.”

 

“I know, I know.” James grumbled, a little cross at having been called sweetheart in public, and quickly crouched down to touch the tops of his parents’ shoes and then his eyes. After one final kiss on the forehead from his mother and a pat on the back from his father, James was finally off to school, eagerly climbing into the train before running down the aisle until he found an empty compartment. Space, all to himself. He was lucky.

 

He’d barely managed to stretch out and settle down for a nice, mid morning nap when another boy his own age stopped at the open door.

 

“Hello, is this carriage taken?” The boy said, and James knew without a doubt that this was the Sirius that Aunt Dorea had been going on and on about him being friends with. The Blacks were usually pretty nasty, from what James had heard from his father, but Aunt Dorea wasn’t all bad. And if she liked this kid, well, he shouldn’t be too bad.

  
“No. I’m the only one here.” James grinned, deciding to give him a chance, and sat up to give him some space.

 

Sirius, predictably, took the seat right next to him. “I’m Sirius.”

 

“James. Do you think we’ll have this place to ourselves?” James shook Sirius’ hand, remembering his father’s lessons about keeping a firm grip and letting the other person know who was in charge. He’d practiced his handshakes on his grandfather, who had, predictably, told him he had all the arm strength of a limp noodle. James was quite confident that he was much better than a limp noodle, but Sirius remained unintimidated, so that confidence was definitely waning.

 

“I doubt it.” Sirius said, with the air of someone who knew something that others didn’t, and James sighed. He’d rather looked forward to having some peace and quiet, although, with Sirius around, that was bound to change. Maybe things would be a little easier to bear, though, with a friend around. “Father says the train is always full.”

 

A pale boy with amber eyes moved to enter the compartment, but paused at the sight of Sirius, who seemed less than excited to see him. Mumbling something under his breath, the boy quickly turned tail. James wasn’t even sure whether to wave goodbye or not. “Who was that? Someone you know?”

 

“Nah,” Sirius said, looking overly self-important. “Just some wanker at the station. Ran right into me. I’m probably going to bruise, stupid tosser…”

“Do you always talk like that?” He wasn’t one to talk. Just because he hadn’t picked up as many English curse words as his peers had, it didn’t mean he couldn’t curse a blue streak if he wanted to. The garden gnomes had, unfortunately for them, borne witness to that one too many times.

“Only when my Mum’s not around,” Sirius said, breaking into a conspiratorial grin. “She’d get really angry if she heard me talking like that, so I’ve got to get it all out now, haven’t I? Before I go back home and have to speak civilly again.” James laughed, very much knowing the feeling, and that seemed to set Sirius at ease a little more. Good. James knew he wasn’t anything to be afraid of, but it was well past time Sirius picked up on it.

A boy named Thomas and his quiet, short friend soon came in, and James was about to stand up to help the smaller one lift his trunk up into the compartment when the other boy managed it himself. They’d seemed to have formed a partnership similar to his and Sirius’ judging by the level of excited chatter, and James only interjected when Thomas loudly claimed that he could, in fact, perform stunning spells.

“You can’t use a wand outside of school.” James said, looking to Sirius. Just because you couldn’t use a wand outside of school didn’t mean you couldn’t learn small forms of wandless magic, of course, but James wasn’t about to tell anyone that, for fear of it being illegal.

“I use my parents’ sometimes”, Sirius said confidently, and that’s when James knew this was all going straight to hell.

James sat back as Sirius demonstrated a quite good Rictumsempra on Thomas, before ending up in the middle of their tiny fray, laughing gleefully as he shot spells at the other boys. He noticed the new crowd of students joining the compartment before any of the others, though, and reached over to stop Thomas in order to get his attention.

The greasy haired boy, who seemed intent on extolling the virtues of Slytherin to the girl he was with, who didn’t look very interested, hadn’t seemed to realize that the rest of the compartment had paused to listen.

“Slytherin?” James said, snorting. “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” Never mind that his mother had been a Slytherin, really, because she didn’t act weird or creepy like most of the Slytherins he knew. Then again, most of the Slytherins he knew were Blacks and Malfoys, and neither could be held up as standards of moral excellence.

“My whole family have been in Slytherin.” Sirius said, looking a little downcast.

“Blimey”, James said, eyes widening. “I thought you seemed alright!”

Sirius broke into a grin, and James relaxed slightly. Good, so he wouldn’t be losing his friend just yet.

“Maybe I’ll break tradition.” Sirius said, chuckling. “Where are you heading?”

“Gryffindor!” James exclaimed, holding an imaginary sword aloft while looking at the greasy haired boy, who seemed to be sneering at him. “Where dwell the brave at heart! Just like my dad!”

The greasy haired boy scoffed, and James sat back down heavily, slightly confused. “Got a problem, mate?”

“No”, the boy sneered, looking him over with an expression that was absolutely dripping with disdain. James had seen that look before, more often on the faces of adults than children, and tried his best to look as intimidating as possible. If he was going to Gryffindor, he’d have to be brave about these things, just like his father had told him to be. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy--” The boy said, looking haughtier than he had a right to be, and James was more than relieved when Sirius cut him off.

James hardly registered what was said next, laughing when the others did to keep up appearances, and waved mockingly as the boy left the compartment, trailing after the girl he’d come in with like a pathetic puppy.

“I hope I’ll never see him again.” James muttered under his breath. His father had warned him about things being hard, but he hadn’t assumed it would get hard this quickly. Hopefully his roommates in Gryffindor would be better. If not, then he had Sirius. He matched Sirius’ grin with one of his own.

He was extraordinarily good at figuring things out, and hopefully that gift would come in handy.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glossary:  
> -Amma = Mom/Mommy  
> -Appa = Dad/Daddy  
> -Kanna = Sweetheart
> 
> As always, we appreciate you reading! We’d love to hear your feedback either here or on tumblr.


	5. Sirius

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James arrive at Hogwarts and Sirius is sorted.

They had changed into their school robes in the compartment on the way to the school. Sirius had been in black robes already, of course, but James had changed from brightly colored robes to the traditional Hogwarts uniform as they approached the station. Sirius waited to put on his Slytherin tie and the snake cufflinks his father had bought him until after the ceremony so that it was official.

He wasn’t sure what the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach was as they got closer to the hilly grounds of Hogwarts. Sirius Black didn’t get nervous. He just didn’t have it in him to worry, and really, he had no need to. Mother and Father could fix anything, and why wouldn’t they? It wasn’t Sirius’ fault if he had a penchant for getting into trouble and he deserved a bit of fun.

* * *

 

So when he stepped off the train and onto the platform, it was a bit of a shock that he found himself anxious to get into the castle looming ahead and take his place amongst his cousins once again. Billows of steam rose from the red engine and obscured his shoes and the crowd ahead of them. He followed the crowd of first years, sticking close to James Potter, and was one of the first to climb into a boat. Naturally, James climbed in beside him, but he was surprised when the other two from their compartment did not follow.

Maybe he’d get lucky and not have to share- but no such luck, the boat was jostled and the boy who had ran into him on the platform got in and sat down behind him, a begrudging look on his face. Sirius turned and resolutely ignored him, holding onto the bow of the boat as it lurched magically forward. They seemed to barely skim the glassy water as they neared the castle, and murmurs of excitement followed from the boats behind them. Sirius had to admit, he had heard about the castle before, but seeing it in person wasn’t quite the same. It was strange to think that he would be spending the coming months within the stone walls, especially in the country, so far from London.

The stone seemed to almost glow in the light of the moon, which was nearly full and hung high in the sky above the tallest turrets. Sirius shivered to think what the moon might bring in days to come, now that they were far into the wilds and not in the city as he was so used to. The boy behind him seemed to be thinking the same thing, his eyes lingered on the sky and looked wide and fearful. Certainly not Gryffindor for that one, he thought.

“How long do you think the ceremony will take?” the pudgy boy who had joined them in the boat asked. “They won’t test us, will they?”

“Test us?” Sirius turned to him and sneered rather rudely. “Don’t tell me you’re Muggleborn.”

The boy blushed heavily and muttered something about his mother into the sleeve of his robe. Half blood.  It wasn’t surprising, but Sirius had been hoping to have classes with some competent wizards, at least. Sirius turned away. “We get sorted by the Sorting Hat, that’s how it’s always been done. It’s tradition.”

“Sort of a silly one, if you ask me.” the redheaded girl was back, her sneering companion in tow. “How would a hat know where you’re supposed to be?”

Her friend quickly pulled her away before Sirius could say anything else, and they disembarked from the boats, making their way up a stone path and through the doors of the castle. Sirius’ reply died in his throat as he looked up at the ceiling where large chandeliers loomed overhead. They were not suspended as far as he could see, they just hovered and danced above them, orbs of light shining down on them. He knew that the large door at the end of the corridor lead to the Great Hall, and he walked confidently forward, looking at it expectantly.

* * *

 

The doors did not part. Rather, a severe looking woman appeared in front of the group, looking at them over her glasses. Her eyes fell on Sirius and James for a moment and a flicker of recognition passed between them before she spoke.

“Welcome, First Years, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor house. Now, for those of you who don’t know, behind me is the entrance to the Great Hall, where dinner will be served, and, more importantly, where you will be sorted in the house that you will be a part of for the remainder of your seven years here at the school.”

Everyone was quiet for a moment, and Sirius thought he saw the flicker of a smile in her rather severe features, before she continued.

“You will form an orderly queue before we enter, and as your name is called, you will approach the chair at the head of the hall, allow me to place the Sorting Hat on your head, and then join the rest of your classmates at your house table.” she looked around importantly at them. “Now, as I’m sure all of you are as hungry as I am, let’s make this orderly and quick. Are there any questions before we begin?”

No one moved or said a word, so she drew her wand, and the door opened. Sirius felt a chill pass over him as the students inside fell silent, and his confidence grow a bit when he joined the queue and shuffled inside with the rest of them.

The hall was full of students in the same uniform black robes he was wearing. They had donned their traditional black hats for the occasion, and he could tell which table was which by the large banners hanging overhead, each in turn emblazoned with a lion, badger, eagle, and snake. Some students wore robes with the accents of their house colours, which appeared as a splash of red, yellow, blue, or green in the mix of black and (in the case of well worn robes), grey.

At the head of the hall a long table of teachers sat, and in the center, a man with a long white beard and robes in a shade of lavender that Sirius had never seen before. He looked over all of them, inclining his head in greeting, and they stopped as Professor McGonagall held her hand up in pause.

In front of the professors’ table was a small wooden stool, atop which a dumpy brown hat sat. It was patched and frayed and wrinkled in a way that gave it the appearance of having a face. He knew it was the sorting hat, but it was not how he had pictured it at all.

As they came to a stop, the hat moved a bit, and what Sirius had thought to be a face became much more clear. The hat looked out over the crowd of them, opened its mouth, and burst into song;

In caverns, glens, and hallowed halls

Are many wizard found

But here at Hogwarts School

We’ve got the best around.

For many years through thick and thin

We’ve taken the best and brightest

It’s up to me (Merlin knows why)

To sort, and so, divide us.

Four houses, each with good and bad

As you’ll hear in my song,

And not one student yet has thought

I’ve got the sorting wrong.

In Gryffindor, the brave ones

With good deeds to their name.

In Hufflepuff, hard workers,

Who are treated just the same.

In Ravenclaw , the smartest,

Whose intelligence is sure.

In Slytherin, ambitious ones,

Whose ancestry is pure.

So put me on! Don’t be afraid!

And don’t get in a flap!

You’re in safe hands (though I have none)

For I’m a Thinking Cap!”

Sirius felt the hat settle on his head. It smelled of old leather and threatened to sink past his eyes; he held it up with one hand. He could see the other first years staring up at him in rapt attention- he looked across the hall-the Gryffindor students must have known his name, they barely looked as he took his seat. His eyes found the Slytherin table and he wished for familiar faces and saw his cousins looking at him expectantly, proudly.  Suddenly his own rapidly circling thoughts were disrupted by a voice in his head that was not his own. He almost gave a start, but only froze in his chair.

       ‘Ah… another Black, eh? I knew I’d be getting one of you soon.’ the voice seemed to be probing for an answer, swimming through his thoughts and memories.

       Sirius said nothing in response, but he didn’t need to- his silent affirmation was enough for the hat and it moved onto other things.

       ‘I suppose you’ll want to end up in Slytherin, just like the rest of your family?’ Sirius thought of his mother and father, of the Slytherin tapestry on the wall, reminding him each time he passed it that he was descended from the best and most noble wizarding stock, Salazar Slytherin himself.

       ‘Well, shouldn’t I be?’ Sirius shot back, and the hat seemed to laugh.

       ‘I’m sure they think so… And you do as well, but you wear your emotions on your sleeve… I do not see cunning, or the ambition of your father. I sorted him right away, you know. But there’s something different in you, something I haven’t seen in your family for a long time. You’re impetuous… stubborn too.’ the hat said as Sirius protested. “ And- do I detect valor?’

       Sirius clenched his hands tightly in his robes. The other students seemed to be taking interest now that he had been up there for a bit longer than usual.

‘Hurry it up. Just let me go sit with my family, I know where you’re putting me. I know where I belong.’

       ‘Do you?’ Sirius was certain that if the hat could smile, then it would be. ‘You’ve got nerve- bravery, I might say... Yes, that’s it, I think it’s… ’ Sirius’ eyes widened, and he shook his head so hard the hat threatened to topple.

       “No, wait-“ he started to say, but was drowned out by the hat shouting, quite clearly “GRYFFINDOR!”

       The entire Great Hall froze. Sirius could see his cousins’ looks of horror and Narcissa’s jaw drop. There wasn’t time to think about it, though, he was being ushered from his seat and off to the Gryffindor table, where applause was slowly building for him. Professor McGonagall gave him a curious look as he reached the bench and he could feel her eyes on him even as he turned away. He took a seat beside a red-headed boy from one of the upper classes, who shook his hand enthusiastically.

       “Wow, a member of the Black family, and first Gryffindor of the year! Congratulations!”

       Sirius did not think that it called for congratulations at all, but he shook his hand back and smiled confidently as always. He looked down at his empty plate and tried to ignore the horrible feeling in his stomach as the sorting ceremony continued. Sirius Black was a Gryffindor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated, it's what keeps us writing! You can reach me here or at queermarauders on tumblr. Apologies if this chapter is a bit short. :)


	6. Remus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UTNG has four authors, one for each of the Marauders. We change perspectives every chapter, and update on a loose schedule, hopefully once a week.  
> elliotasterion (queermarauders) = Sirius Black  
> SarahSelene (mysteriousremus) = Remus Lupin   
> skindyedblue (braveremus) = Peter Pettigrew  
> highandlonelydestiny (desiprongspotter) = James Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by SarahSelene who can be found at mysteriousremus on tumblr.

Chapter 6

Remus

            Remus would have paid anything to cut the tension in the room after the hat placed Sirius Black into Gryffindor. He was not really sure why it was so tense, however. He knew that the Black family was usually placed in Slytherin, his father had told him that much, but surely there were Blacks who were not in Slytherin, right? Families came in all sorts, surely the same was true for the Black family. Remus watched as the other boy stalked down the aisle to the Gryffindor table. Had it really been that bad?

            Remus swallowed hard as more and more students before him moved up to the hat and sat down, just to have it place on their heads. He watched as a red-headed girl named “Evans, Lily” got placed into Gryffindor, and after that the rest of the names went by in a blur.  He could not focus on the students, focusing instead on the beating of his heart, trying to quiet the voices in his head. The hat had not said any words that Remus would use to describe himself. What if the hat did not place him in any house? Would they send him home? Was there a fifth secret house for – “Mr. Lupin!” A sharp voice said, breaking Remus out of his reverie. Remus jumped out of his skin and his head whipped around to look at the thin bespectacled woman. “Come up to be sorted,” she said, her lips thinning into a line. Laughter spread through the hall and Remus flushed bright red before he nodded and shuffled over, sitting on the stool. He was grateful when the hat fell in front of his eyes.

            “Hello,” A voice whispered to Remus and he almost jumped again. “Lupin, hm? I remember your father. You’re not your father though, are you? You’re something completely different, and there’s something different about you… You’re not like the other students I have met. What is it? What is it? Ah… you’re a werewolf.”

            The word bounced around in Remus’ head. It echoed until panic started to set it. Remus swallowed hard, his fingers curling on the edge of the stool. “I’m more than that,” Remus told the hat.

            “Oh yes, yes,” the hat said back, “not that you really believe that… it is true though. You’re smart, yes. Very smart, I see. You like to learn, I can see that too. You would do well as a Ravenclaw.” The hat paused and Remus’ heartbeat sped up again. “There’s more to you than that as well, is there not? You’ve been a werewolf for a long time… It takes a lot of courage to do that. So, I guess it better be – Gryffindor!” Remus heard the last word yelled to the hall and the hat was pulled off his head. The Gryffindor table was all cheering for him, some even standing in their enthusiasm. Remus could not stop the grin that emerged on his face, quickly hopping off the stool and walking towards the table as a “McKinnon, Marlene” was called to sit where he had sat. He moved down the table where there were empty seats. He paused a moment when he saw Sirius Black sitting at the table, staring at his plate as if the world had just come crashing down on him. Remus wondered for a moment if he should find another place to sit –the Slytherin table would probably be far enough, right? – but Remus swallowed his pride and he moved the spot across from Sirius.

            “Mind if I sit here?” Remus asked quietly, waiting apprehensively for Black to snap at him.

            It certainly looked like Black was about to. His head snapped up and he glared at Remus with contempt and hate that Remus was certainly used to, but suspected it was not meant for him. Slowly Black’s face relaxed as defeat spread over it and entered his eyes. Black put his elbows on the table and moved his fingers through the black hair on his head. “No,” Black said quietly, directed to the table but meant for Remus. “Go right ahead…”

            Remus nodded and slowly sat down across from the other boy, looking at him quietly. He looked up and clapped as the Gryffindor table cheered as McKinnon was sorted into their house. She sat further down the table as a “Meadowes, Dorcas” was called up. Remus turned and looked over at Black quietly and he asked, “Didn’t expect to get into Gryffindor then?”

            The bitter laugh that left Black’s mouth was unexpected, but Remus did not show his surprise. “That’s an understatement,” Black said quietly, his posh accent slipping a bit as his words caught in his throat.

            Remus licked his lips a bit, his fingers tapping on his leg gently as the Ravenclaw table cheered for their newest member. “What house did you want to get into?”

            “Slytherin,” was the one word answer he received.

            “Why?”

            “All my family’s in Slytherin. It’s family tradition and all… I’m suppose to make my family proud and I can’t do that if I’m not in Slytherin.” Black’s mouth closed with a snap, and Remus let the silence settle in between them, listening as the Hufflepuff table cheered.

            “Well,” Remus said at last when the cheering calmed down. “Seems a bit of an over reaction, if you ask me. You should be able to bring pride to your family no matter what house you’re in. I’m sure your parents will love whatever house you’re in.” Remus paused and looked over at the Slytherin table. “Besides, they kind of look like a bunch of tossers.” Remus took a moment to ponder a thought. “Perhaps you do belong over there.”

            “Oi!” Black said, his head snapping back up and Remus could not help but grin and cover his mouth to hide the laughter that was shaking in his shoulders. A similar grin spread over Black’s lips and he shook his head. “You’re an arse, Lupin.” Remus could tell, despite his distracting laughter, that the comment was more playful than Black’s previous comments.

            Remus finally calmed down and he was about to say something else, when he heard McGonnagall calling for “Pettigrew, Peter.” Remus turned his head and looked up, realizing that at least five or six other students had been sorted without the boys noticing. Remus turned his entire body to face the sorting, looking at his new friend, looking nervous but trying to hide it. Remus smile a bit and he sat up a little straighter, trying to send out all the reassuring energy he could for his friend. If Remus could do it, anyone could, right?

            “He’s a friend of yours, right?” Black said, and Remus blinked as he looked back over at him. “That Pettigrew kid?”

            “Yeah,” Remus said quietly. “I guess so. We met on the train.”

            “Why?” Black asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

            “Why not?” Remus asked with a blink. “I like him. He’s been nice to me, and he seems to like me back.”

            “He just seems kind of…” Sirius waved his hand a bit, moving it by his head. “Dumb.”

            Remus flushed suddenly, his hands clenching on his thighs. “Well good news, you don’t have to be friends with him.” He stood up and nodded to him. “Excuse me.” He moved down the table to find a new spot to sit, ignoring Sirius’ small plea to ‘wait’. Remus found a few empty spots still near McKinnon, sitting down near her. He turned back to the sorting and put on a small forced smile on his face as he waited for his friend to hopefully join him.


	7. Peter

Peter felt like his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. The austere professor (whose name he couldn’t for the life of him remember) stood next to the small wooden stool, primly calling out the name ‘Nott, Hiram’ from the curled parchment in her hand. The acid climbing up Peter’s throat threatened to become full-on retching.

The Hat didn’t seem frightening from where Peter was standing, although several of the students had let out audible gasps and one nearly jumped a foot in the air when it was placed upon their head. It seemed to place students into their houses at random, sometimes announcing it within seconds, other times taking long minutes before making its decision. It didn’t seem to take into consideration what the student wanted, as ‘Black, Sirius’ was a testament to. He seemed as shocked as everyone else to be sorted into Gryffindor, most of the Slytherins still looking at him with a mixture of disgust and pity.

Remus had been another first year that the Hat apparently took great interest in. From his vantage point it almost looked like he had been arguing with the dingy old thing, occasionally mouthing words although no sound came out. Peter was glad he had been put into Gryffindor, if the train ride up to Hogwarts had revealed anything Remus was brave and kind and would flourish there.

“Pettigrew, Peter.”

Peter swallowed back a whimper, stumbling up to the stool and carefully taking a seat. The professor, whose name he still couldn’t recall, gave him the smallest of smiles before placing the Hat atop his head.

“Ah, Pettigrew.” There was a voice murmuring into his ear. No, it was murmuring in his head. Peter nearly jumped out of his skin. The Hat to chuckled as it nearly slipped past his nose.

“Your mother responded much the same when she was sorted. A Ravenclaw if I remember correctly?” He nodded, unsure of whether he was supposed to reply or not. The Hat chuckled again, a strange feeling curling up Peter’s spine and gathering in his head. It made him dizzy and he squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the Hat to shout out one of the Houses.

“Hm, you’ve got quite a clever mind for one so young, Mr Pettigrew. Tenacious, too.” The Hat gave a tsk and Peter was certain if it could it would be shaking its head. “Why do you hide such talents?”

Peter swallowed, thoughts automatically going to his father. Being quiet and invisible meant that he wasn’t noticed, that his father wouldn’t find reasons to tease and torment him. He’d learned from a young age that paying attention and only speaking up when necessary was the best way to get through each day. The Hat hummed, sounding almost sympathetic. It made Peter shift uncomfortably, his stomach squirming.

“I see, I see. Slytherin, perhaps. They would help you gain confidence and bring out your finer qualities, turn you into an accomplished wizard.”

“What? Not Slytherin!”

“No?”

“ _No!_ ”

“Why not?” The Hat sounded amused.

“I’m a half blood! They would hate me! Why not put me in, in Hufflepuff?”

“Hufflepuff? They would welcome you, certainly, but you would hardly have room to grow. Is that what you want?”

Peter was slow to reply. “No. But I want to be put somewhere I’d belong.” His voice was soft, trembling in his head. The dizzy feeling came back, stronger this time, and images of him protecting his mother, helping his friends from his small village swam behind Peter’s eyes.

“Well, that leaves only one place for you, doesn’t it? Right then --” The hat was no longer in his head, instead bellowing out to the Great Hall. “ _GRYFFINDOR!_ ”

There was a loud applause as the Hat was lifted from his head. Blinking several times Peter slowly got to his feet, walking toward the table that was applauding the loudest, forcing up an awkward smile as several students shook his hand and thumped him on the back. Most of the seats were already taken, older students and friends clustered together. A redheaded girl scooted over, offering him a seat next to her. Peter was about to take it when he saw Black, Sirius glowering opposite her. Part of him felt sorry for the boy, but he wasn't sure if this is the time to offer sympathy.

The girl was watching him expectantly, her warm smile slipping a little off her face as Peter hesitated. He was trying to find an excuse to not sit next to her when Remus waved him over. Peter nearly sighed with relief, offering her an embarrassed smile as the Great Hall erupted in applause again, quickly walking over to his friend and taking a seat.

“I suppose congratulations are in order?” Remus grinned, clapping Peter on the shoulder.

“You too. At least I know someone in my house.” He laughed, patting Remus on the back in reply. There were only a handful of first years left, queued between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. and Peter caught one of them craning his neck up, staring intently at the ceiling. Peter glanced up, his jaw dropping as he took in the sight. Hundreds of candles floated over their heads, and above them was nothing but sky.

“Potter, James.”

Peter couldn’t tell if it was actually open to the sky or charmed that way, but the stars seemed to twinkle brighter than they had at home. He was about to nudge Remus and show him when the professor holding the Hat called out loudly, her voice showing a hint of irritation.

“Potter, James!”

One of the boys was shoved forward, turning back to glare at the other first year who had pushed him before walking forward, offering a sheepish smile to the professor who was holding the Hat.

He couldn’t help staring. The boy looked so…. different. He had dark bronze skin and even darker hair, which stood up in all directions. It looked like it hadn’t been brushed in weeks, maybe even years. There were glasses perched lopsidedly on his nose, just above a wide set mouth. Compared to all the fair complexioned students he stood out like a beacon, and from his behavior, he was fully aware of the fact.

Peter had heard his father talk about Indians moving from the continent to England, how they’d taken over jobs and made a mess of things. He’d never met one, of course, his quiet little community not taking very well to strangers. Peter had never expected to see any of them at Hogwarts. It seemed he wasn’t the only student who had an interest in the boy, several others at the Gryffindor table were watching him with open curiosity.

He looked over to Remus to ask what he thought, only to catch his friend’s sour expression. He all but glared at the people who were making a fuss over ‘Potter, James’, his lips compressed into a thin line. Peter fidgeted a little in his seat and tried to put on an expression of indifference.

The Hat barely took half a minute before loudly calling out, “ _GRYFFINDOR_!” and Peter applauded loudly with the rest of the table as the boy walked over, pausing to look at Sirius and then nodding to himself as he sat next to him.

_Braver than me_ , Peter thought.

The rest of the sorting finished quickly and soon the Hall was buzzing with voices and laughter. Peter was about to ask when they were going to eat when a hush came over the students. Standing at the front of the Hall was a wizard with the longest beard Peter had ever seen; it was tucked neatly into the belt of his shiny purple robes. There were halfmoon shaped glasses perched on the edge of a very crooked nose, the light from the candles above reflecting off them. It made them look like his eyes were twinkling.

“Welcome, welcome to another fine year at Hogwarts! Now, before we begin our start-of-term feast, I would like to say a few words.” The professor cleared his throat loudly, drawing himself to his full height. “Carriwitchet, impavid, superbious, finnimbrun!”

The professor sat back down, smiling serenely. Peter was about to look over at Remus and ask what exactly he meant when the table began to creak, a moment later it was laden with food as though charmed from the very air. It all smelled incredible; roast beef, pork chops,steak and kidney pie, roast potatoes, carrots, and peppermint humbugs. Peter didn’t know where to start, filling his plate with as many dishes as he could reach. Beside him, Remus tried to smother a chuckle.

Across the table from them were two boys, redheaded twins who were talking animatedly about who would be on the quidditch team this year. Peter bit his lip then spoke up, causing both boys to give him the same curious look.

“Excuse me, but who was that professor?”

One of the twins raised an eyebrow at him. “Which one?”

“The one in the purple. Who is he?”

“Are you -- that’s Professor Albus Dumbledore! He’s only one of the most powerful wizards in the world.”

“And our headmaster.” The other twin supplied.

“Yes. That too.”

Peter was about to ask for them to elaborate when he saw a tall, silvery figure float through the table. He heard Remus squawk beside him along with several other students. The figure looked like he belonged in one of those stuffy films his mum liked so much, a huge ruffle around his neck and puffed up trousers. One of the twins called out a greeting, smiling widely.

“Sir Nick!”

“Ah, Mr Prewett! How was your summer?”

“Good! We even spent some of it reading up on this year’s lessons.”

“Did you now? Professor McGonagall will be pleased to hear it.”

“Mhm. We wanted to get a _head_ , if you catch our drift.”

The smile fell from the ghosts face and he sniffed loudly, floating further up the table and resolutely ignoring the way the twins giggled.

Remus was still eyeing Sir Nick warily. “What’s so funny?”

“Sir Nick is only partially decapitated. Apparently whoever was in charge of his execution did not consider how being nearly headless would affect a ghost.”

As the meal wound down the food was replaced with dessert; blocks of ice cream, apple pies, treacle tart, chocolate éclairs and pudding. Peter ate until he almost felt sick, not wanting to miss anything the feast had to offer. His eyes were beginning to droop as the last of the desserts vanished, Professor Dumbledore rising from his seat and waiting patiently for the students to quiet.

“Now that we have filled our stomachs, I have a few start-of-term notices I would like to share. Firstly, to all first years, the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. Secondly, a reminder that magic is not to be used in the corridors between lessons. And thirdly, quidditch trials shall commence the second week of the term, anyone who is interested please speak to Madam Hooch.”

Professor Dumbledore smiled warmly, brandishing his wand. “And now, let us sing our school song!” Several professors sitting at the staff table stiffened upon hearing this, and one with a rather prodigious belly looked like the idea was causing him physical pain. Shiny gold ribbon began to shoot out of the headmaster’s wand, forming cursive letters in the air. “If you could kindly choose your favorite tune. And, begin!”

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald,_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling,_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot._

The Great Hall exploded in a cacophony of sound as the students sang loudly, and it also seemed to Peter, very off-key. He had initially tried to sing the lyrics to the jingle of this favorite commercial (Nimble Bread), but gave up halfway through, instead opting to sing as loudly and quickly as possible. A little ways down the table he was almost certain he could hear several students singing to the tune of _Heard It Through The Grapevine_.

It was several long minutes before everyone had stopped singing their renditions and Peter’s ears were still ringing. Professor Dumbledore, however, seemed overjoyed at such a showing, smiling so hard it looked almost painful. “Wonderful! And now, if the Prefects from each house would be so kind as to direct their fellow students to the dormitories, tomorrow begins bright and early!”


	8. James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by highandlonelydestiny who can be found at desiprongspotter on tumblr.

“Gryffindor first years! This way!” The prefect called, and James put down the fork he’d been playing with and stood up as the plates were clearing themselves.

One of the older students had shot him a weird look when he’d reached for the soggy, overcooked rice on his plate with his hand earlier, so he’d spent the rest of the meal playing with a fork and trying his best to look as if he’d figured it out. Of course, the more he played with the already unappetizing rice, the more squishy and soup like it became, and he eventually gave up on dinner altogether.

Hopefully he’d be more successful at breakfast.

The shorter of the boys from the boat (“Pettigrew, Peter”, he remembered) was still shooting him odd looks every once in awhile, and James was doing his best to pretend he hadn’t noticed yet. Appa had told him Hogwarts would be difficult, and he’d likely have more than his fair share of trouble from the other boys his age, and James had accepted it as true without question, like he did with most things Appa said. And this Peter, who seemed like he’d jump if James so much as breathed in his direction, was going to be his roommate for the next seven years.

But Peter was hardly the most dangerous of his new roommates, really. That honor went squarely to Sirius Black, who looked like he would set anyone that dared touch him on fire. If James had ended up in Slytherin, away from everyone he knew, he’d feel the same way. Of course, Sirius’ problem was more that he hadn’t ended up in Slytherin, but the basics of it were the same.

Lupin, Remus, a tall boy who seemed as wary of Sirius as James was, seemed to be the safest option in this situation. He seemed smart, and had been smiling during dinner, so hopefully that meant he was approachable. Amma had made it a requirement that James had to make at least one friend before the night was out, so Remus would count as a satisfactory first friend, if Sirius turned around completely and became scary.

He ran along behind the rest of the group, noticing that the Gryffindors were already halfway out of the hall by the time he’d pulled himself out of his thoughts, and tried his best to ignore the snickers behind him. If he ran a little fast, he’d be able to stay with the group. And then no one would know the difference, right? He caught up around the second set of stairs, and kept close to the back all the way to the common room.

The prefect said something about a password, then rattled off a complicated Latin word that James had no idea how to say. Alright. That was going to be a bummer. He’d ask one of his roommates what it was later. He filed through the portrait hole behind his classmates, running up the left side stairs to the first year boys’ dormitory as quickly as he could.

And, just his luck, all three of his roommates had picked their beds already, leaving James with the one just to the left of Sirius Black’s, which was closest to the door. That was on him, for showing up late. Hopefully Sirius wasn’t a murderer or angry. Aunt Dorea had said that she’d had a couple scary relatives here and there, and James knew for a fact that she didn’t lie about these things.

“Hello.” James said, trying to chase all traces of nervousness out of his voice. “Nice to meet you all. Again. I guess. I mean, we’ve all met before, but this is sort of meeting again, and…” He trailed off, cursing himself under his breath for talking too much.

“Hello.” Sirius was sitting on his bed, looking quite out of sorts. James decided not to bother him-- Sirius had enough on his mind without James getting in his face. Amma had always said that James had a bad habit of making problems worse while trying to fix them, so, in an effort to turn over a new leaf, he was going to leave Sirius all the way alone and let him figure it out. That would be James’ project for the term.

“Hello!” Peter looked far more enthusiastic for it to be genuine, and James grinned, trying his best to look at ease. Peter was puttering about, getting his things in order, and James walked over to his own trunk, kneeling down before it before opening the latch. He could feel Peter staring as soon he opened the trunk, which was quite discomforting, but the inside of the trunk still smelled like home, which brought a genuine smile to James’ face.

He dug out the tiny Ganesha and Saraswati idols Amma had sent with him and set them down on his desk, before moving his school supplies over. Appa had gotten a notebook blessed for him at the temple back home and had sent him to school with instructions to use it for his hardest subject, which James was quite convinced was going to be Potions, because Appa had called Slughorn a few interesting words that Amma had forbidden James to repeat. There were far too many steps in Potions, all of which had to be done at specific times, and the few times he’d tried to help Amma with her work had ended in disaster.

James stripped off his robes, sweater, shirt and tie, tossing them into his trunk before laying a fresh uniform out on top of it for the next morning, and waited for his roommates to be appropriately busy before switching his uniform pants for more comfortable ones. It seemed to be dark enough outside to call it a night from what he could see outside the window, especially with the threat of lessons looming large the next morning. James toyed with the image of Ganesha dangling from the gold chain around his neck for a second before leaving it to hang under the neck of his undershirt.

“Night.” James called out, hoping to get at least one response, and, thankfully, Remus didn’t disappoint. He clambered into his bed, saying all of his prayers under his breath, before crawling under the covers. He’d forgotten to pack his school bag for tomorrow, and he was still a little bit hungry, and oh, look at that, he’d forgotten to unpack his toothbrush.

Before James could summon up the energy to get up, he was asleep.

* * *

“Hey!” James called out, recognizing Abhay Patil by his lanky frame and perpetually untied shoes. It was far too early in the morning for yelling, but today was the first day of school, and he’d never really been known for his inside voice. “Over here!” He nearly tripped over his own shoelaces in an attempt to catch up with his childhood friend, and Abhay laughed, catching him by the arm just before James was actually about to take a tumble. Good thing, too, since James hadn’t learned the spell to repair his glasses yet.

“Careful there.” He, unlike James, was already ready for school, Ravenclaw tie neatly knotted around his neck and uniform in perfect order. By contrast, James’ shirt was untucked, his tie wasn’t tied, and one of his pants legs was still stuck in his sock, his robe stuffed halfway into his own school bag. ”You might fall over. Can’t ruin your first day. Come on, shoes off.”

“We’ve got to walk back and forth in front of it three times.” Abhay sat, patting a section of the wall. “Think really hard about the temple near home, okay?”

James nodded, squeezing his eyes shut as they walked back and forth in front of the section of wall. When he opened his eyes, he gasped in surprise upon finding an ornate door. “There’s a temple inside the castle? How’d they make it fit?”

“Yeah.” Abhay nodded, kicking off his shoes and setting his school bag down before grabbing the handle of the door. James followed suit, accidentally sending one of his shoes halfway down the hall in his excitement, but thankfully, Abhay was a fifth year and knew summoning charms. “I don’t know who found it, but it’s here.”

“Okay.” James ran in ahead, squeezing through the gap between his friend and the doorjamb, and immediately ran to the Ganesh idol. Ganesh was the god of all beginnings, and this was definitely a pretty big beginning. James would take any help he could get, at this point.

“Alright, Pillaiyar,” he said, grimacing at how the familiar name already felt foreign, “help me out. Got to do this school thing the right way. Figured you’re the one to ask.” He grabbed his earlobes in the opposite hands, squatting three times, and then prostrated himself in front of the elephant headed statue.

“Don’t take too long-- breakfast hardly lasts a minute before everyone else comes in and steals all the good food. Then you’ll be stuck with Hogwarts rice again.” Abhay grinned even as James pulled himself up to his feet, grimacing. “Oh, good, you’ve been warned about that.”

“Warned?” James shuddered. “First hand experience.”

“Oh no.” Abhay grimaced. “Oh no.”

“Yeah.” James nodded, looking quite put off, as he moved over to the small shrine dedicated to Shiva. After quickly prostrating himself again and muttering a few prayers under his breath, he was raring to go, rushing for the door again.“You know, I feel like I’ll get somewhere if I pray enough.”

“Positive thinking’s always good.” Abhay pulled the door back open and James rushed out, grabbing his shoes in his hand before running off down the corridor. “Bye then!”

“Bye!” James called, not even turning back. If he hurried, there might be some toast left, because he’d finished the food Amma had sent after his roommates had fallen asleep the night before. And, as Appa had said daily for as long as James could remember, breakfast was the most important meal of the day. “See you at lunch!”’

* * *

James flopped onto one of the chairs in the common room upon returning from his last class, dropping his bag onto the carpeted floor. His head was full of large, unwieldy Latin words that he never could get just right, and he had already been set tons of homework assignments that he could hardly keep straight. Amma had told him to write them down, with the due dates right next to them, and to make plans to keep his study time fairly rationed between subjects until he knew what was toughest, but he’d told her he didn’t need to.

What a mistake that had been.

He rubbed at his forehead, trying to fight off the building headache before it really took hold, while tugging a piece of parchment out of his already messy schoolbag. He vaguely remembered that he had to fill the whole thing with information about the basic rules of Transfiguration. There were spells he had to reference, but the incantations all muddled together into his head, a strange mess of consonants that he hardly knew how to keep straight.

He was used to just asking for what he wanted, with regards to Transfiguration, feeling magic rush through the tips of his fingers to surround the object like a glittering net while he reshaped it in his head piece by piece. These fancy spells seemed far too troublesome when compared to that. It had only been a day, and he’d already come to the conclusion that much of his lessons were a matter of people making things as simple as magic far too complicated for themselves.

Of course, although magic was simple for him, the things they considered simple were not.

He’d written his real name on the in class essay Slughorn had set in Potions, and had suffered through the embarrassment of having his name butchered (“Jan-arr-dan? Jah--”) before one of the Slytherins yelled out that it must be his. He’d been embarrassed to hear his name read aloud so badly, and James frowned as he tried to push the memory somewhere else. It was just a matter of not forgetting again, so he wouldn’t.

Today had been a mess, overall, he thought, tucking the now slightly crumpled parchment back into his bag, but maybe tomorrow would be better. And the day after that would be even better. After all, he had seven whole years left to get the hang of how this school worked.

But, as he made nebulous plans to maybe, sort of, start the assignments after dinner, he couldn’t shake the feeling that seven years might not even be close to enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We appreciate you reading! We’d love to hear your feedback either here or on tumblr. We're very excited to be starting this fic, and your feedback and kudos will only make it better!


	9. Sirius

Sirius could not sleep his first night at Hogwarts. He wished he had gone to bed in the familiar Slytherin common room, surrounded by his family, cold as they were. Instead, he had said rushed ‘goodnights’ to his roommates, and hidden himself away as soon as he could without seeming too rude. He heard the rest of them get into their pyjamas as he dressed behind his curtains. Soon enough, the tower was quiet and he could hear the sound of breath heavy with sleep.  


He pulled the curtains around his four poster bed tightly closed, and lay under the duvet, cloaked in crimson. He could not figure out why he had been placed in Gryffindor. Surely, he was worthy of Slytherin, and he had so hoped for it. It wasn’t that he felt he was wrong for Gryffindor. He was brave, that’s what the hat said, and it had been so sure that he was meant to be here. He thought about this in the dark until he could no longer keep his eyes open and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning he woke to the sound of quiet shuffling and the rumpling of bedclothes. He opened his curtains and could see Peter getting dressed in his robes. James seemed to have left already, but Remus’ bed curtains were still drawn tight. Sirius eyed his new roommate, making note of how Peter’s robes fit a bit tightly at the waist. He got out of bed and opened his own trunk, taking out his shirt and robes. The little black box father had given him was still in the trunk. He got dressed, and then opened it, staring at the silver snake cufflinks he had been so proud to wear. 

“What are those?” Peter was tugging his robes on, neck craned trying to look into the box. Sirius snapped it shut and put it back in the trunk. 

“Nothing.” Sirius said, turning to face him. “I see you’re dressed. I thought you’d be at breakfast by now.” 

“I was waiting for you all-” Peter started, but Sirius shrugged, threw his book bag over his shoulder, and left the dormitory just as Remus was getting out of bed. He ran down the steps, drawing looks from the crowd of students in the Common Room, and rushed past them, nearly jumping through the portrait hole in his haste to get downstairs. 

He walked quickly down the corridor, hoping to avoid any Slytherins. He had no such luck. When he turned the corner to walk down the stairs, a group of them were walking towards him. Before he could turn and walk in the opposite direction, he heard a familiar voice. 

“Sirius?” A tall brown haired girl pushed through from the back of the crowd and approached him. She gave a wave of her hand and the rest of the crowd dispersed, still looking over their shoulders for a glimpse at Sirius. 

“Hello, Andromeda.” Sirius said sullenly, looking at the shining Slytherin Prefect badge on her chest. 

“I’ve been looking all over for you, I tried to find you after dinner last night but Gryffindor left the Great Hall before we did and I had to take the first years down to the dormitories.” she looked at him carefully. “Are you alright?” 

Sirius had never been too fond of his cousins, but he had liked Andromeda the best because she had been the one to tell him all about Hogwarts. 

“Yeah, I’m alright. I got here, didn’t I? I bet Narcissa said something horrible.” Sirius frowned. Andromeda only pursed her lips and put her hand on Sirius’ shoulder 

“Have you written home yet? Your parents have heard you’re in Gryffindor now, my mother said so.” 

“No.” Sirius grumbled, not meeting her eyes. 

“Sirius, you know I like Gryffindors. I’m not going to boss you around or anything, I’m trying to help.” she said kindly. 

Sirius gave her a tight smile. “Thanks. I’ll write them after class.” he said, his stomach sinking as he realized he couldn’t hold off facing them forever. 

Andromeda gave him a quick nod, and then was back to business. “Get to class, you don’t want to make a bad first impression.” 

The potions room was in one of the damper corners of the dungeons. He opened the door and looked around at the rows of desks and cauldrons until he saw a familiar face. James Potter was sitting in the middle row and was looking at the Slytherins with contempt as the came in and sat down on the other half of the room. Sirius came and sat down beside him, then took his things out of his bookbag. James stared as he took out his inkwell. 

“You really like… snakes, don’t you?” he asked, clearly trying to be polite about it. 

Sirius furrowed his brow then looked at his desk. Green quill, decorative snakes around his ink bottle and inkwell. Sirius swallowed. Everything was Slytherin themed. He hadn’t thought twice when he was buying it with his mother. He hastily stowed most of his things back in his book bag. 

“Not exactly.” he said to James as their professor walked into the room. 

Professor Slughorn was a tall, squat man with a mustache that gave him an uncanny resemblance to a walrus. Sirius sat through his boring introduction to class and hoped that he would be able to take a walk on his own tonight after dinner so he didn’t have to be around his roommates for too long. Suddenly, James was nudging Sirius’ arm. Sirius looked up to Slughorn looking at him expectantly. 

“Mr. Black, I asked how your father is doing. Is he well?” Slughorn asked, raising his eyebrow. Sirius nodded quickly, ignoring snickers from some of the Slytherins. 

“It’s a shock you weren’t in my house, my boy, I’ve had all the Black family, I thought I would certainly have you. Oh well, you can’t have them all, I suppose, though maybe you’ve picked up your uncle’s gift for potions?” 

Sirius found his voice. “I certainly hope so, sir.” he gave Slughorn his best smile. 

“Yes, yes, well I’ll be keeping my eye on you…” he looked down his list and called out a few more names. 

“Lily Evans?” the red haired witch from dinner raised her hand. “Any relation to Thomas Evans? No? Well, that’s a pity, he was quite the cursebreaker in his day. Still, Evans sounds familiar. Have any of your family been in my house before?” 

Lily shook her head. “No, sir, none of my family is magic, just me.” There was a collective hiss from the Slytherins and Slughorn looked surprised. 

“None at all? Well, try your best to keep up, dear, I’m sure you’ll do fine.” he said, less than convincingly. He moved again down the list, stopping a few more times whenever he saw a name that looked familiar. 

“Remus Lupin?” he beamed. “Now there’s a name I know, your father was one of the best at the Ministry. Department for the Control of Magical Creatures, was it? I have one of his books. I didn’t know he had a son. Do you take after your father, Mr. Lupin?” 

“I certainly have an interest in magical creatures, Professor.” Remus said, a small smile on his face. 

“Glad to have you in class, my boy, perhaps you have a hand for potions as well.” 

Sirius was surprised. He looked at Lupin and thought perhaps he had underestimated him. Either that, or he was a teacher’s pet and a pain in the arse. 

“Ja--Jan--Janarr--” several students turned and stared when James raised his hand. 

“You can just call me James Potter, professor.” James said with a smile. Sirius could see his hands tightening around the sleeves of his robes as he said it. Slughorn gave him a slow nod. 

“Do I know your mother, perhaps? Arya Pad--Padma--” 

“Padmanabhan.” James interjected, voice wavering slightly as he tried to look confident. 

Slughorn nodded, waving his hand as if he’d meant that all along, and continued. “Arya, yes, she was in my house some years ago.” 

James nodded, fidgeting nervously. He looked distinctly awkward, as if he were used to answering this question, yet unable to come up with a response despite it. “Yes, that’s my mother.” 

Slughorn smirked. “Well, you didn’t get her house, but you’re lucky you didn’t get landed with her name either, aren’t you? Potter suits you, my boy.” 

James said nothing, just looked down at his parchment, and Sirius couldn’t help but get quietly indignant on his behalf. He decided he didn’t much care for Slughorn, no matter what his parents had said about getting on his good side. 

That night, after dinner, Sirius went to the owlery to write a letter. It took him a long time to find the words for the predicament he found himself in, but he knew it was better to write before they started sending letters asking after him. 

Dear Mother and Father, 

Cousin Andromeda told me yesterday that you heard the news of my sorting. I am very surprised, but I am doing my best to be a good student despite my house. I have made a few acquaintances, one with James Potter, whose family I’m sure you know. He knew our family and he shares all my classes with me. Other than that I am not making many friends, but I am setting a good example of what a student from a family like mine should be. Prof. Slughorn asked after our family today, he sends his greetings. I hope this letter finds you well. 

Your Son, 

Sirius O. Black.


	10. Remus

Remus walked out of the common room through the portrait hole, letting out a long breath. There was no way he was going to be able to keep this a secret for long. He swallowed hard, holding his change of clothes against his chest. He had to find the Hospital Wing, why did nobody tell him where that was? 

“This place really needs a map,” Remus muttered as he moved down the stairs. The castle was fairly quiet, only a few other students moving around in the post-class pre-dinner quiet. What if Remus did not make it to the Hospital Wing in time? He pressed up against a wall as a group of Hufflepuffs pushed past him, and his brain conjured up the image of them being tackled and overwhelmed by a werewolf, ending with- 

Remus would not let his brain finish that thought. His heart thudded in his chest, pulse racing as he suddenly took off down the stairs, earning himself a lot of weird looks as he ran. He came to a sudden stop, panting hard and swallowing so he would not get sick in the hall. His whole body shuddered as he tried to calm down. 

Once he had finally got a hold of his thoughts again, he let out a huff of breath. “Get a hold of yourself, Remus,” he muttered, and moved forward. “We’ll find the Hospital Wing. Professor Dumbledore would not let you be late…” He let out another breath, flushing a bit when a Ravenclaw with a Prefect badge give him a strange look. He was struck by an idea, moving over to the Prefect. “Excuse me,” he said in his bravest voice. “I’m looking for the Hospital Wing. I have to see Madam Pomfrey… do you know where I have to go?” 

The Prefect paused as they glanced down at Remus, looking at the bundle held against the young boy’s chest. “Planning on staying the night there?” The older student’s eyebrow rose up, eyes moving back up to look at Remus. 

Remus’ hands tensed and he held the bundle closer to his chest. “S-sort of… Can you please tell me where the Hospital Wing is?” The prefect let out a sigh, and Remus was about to give up, when they finally spoke. 

“It’s another five floors down, first floor. It’s easy to find from there.” Before Remus could thank them, the prefect turned and left. Remus’ eyebrows knitted together but he let out a breath, turning and walking back down the stairs. He skipped the disappearing stair and made his way down to the first floor. There were starting to be more people now, moving around him to head for the Great Hall. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the people streaming into the hall. A pang of jealousy ran through him, his fingers clenching around his clothing. Even though his stomach still felt sick, he desperately wanted to join them. He knew there was no food out yet, but he could practically smell it. The thought made his stomach do another flip, but he still wanted to join them. He wanted to be with everyone. He just wanted to be normal. 

With a start he realized there were tears in his eyes and he frustratedly wiped them away on the back of his sleeve. He sniffed and turned to looking for the door to the Hospital Wing. Focus on that first. Worry about other things later. He moved down the hall, only lifting his gaze when he saw a woman slightly taller than him standing just outside the hall. 

“Mr. Lupin?” The woman asked, moving over to him when he nodded. “Finally. We have some things to go over before sunset… and these fall nights come far too early.” 

She ushered him into the wing, taking in the slightly worn pajamas that were still clutched to his chest. “Are those your pajamas? I will take them.” She reached down, taking the clothing from his hesitant hands. “I will bring these for you tomorrow.” She moved over to a desk, setting the clothes down on it. “I am Madam Pomfrey,” she said, finally turning and looking at him again. “I will admit, I have never been tasked with caring for a werewolf, that I know of. It will be… a new experience.” She turned, waving her wand to bring a chair for him to sit on. “I would like you to know, however, that we have been preparing for this ever since you confirmed you were coming to Hogwarts. I suspect that Dumbledore had been preparing for longer than that.” She brought her own chair over, sitting down onto it. 

“So,” she continued, crossing her legs a bit and letting out a breath. “The routine is very simple… you’ll come here, once a month, as you did today, and we’ll go to a house on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Do you know where that is?” She waited for a nod before continuing. “I’m going to, unfortunately, leave you there for the night. I wish I did not have to, but you know why I must.” She let out another breath. “Tomorrow morning, when it’s safe, I’ll come and collect you, and we’ll come back here where you can rest until you feel ready to return to class. Dumbledore tells me it can take a few days to heal following a transformation, and you can stay here as long as you need.” 

Remus stared at her, taking it all in, before he nodded. “Okay…” He said quietly. “Are you sure the house will be… safe?” 

“Oh, yes,” Madam Pomfrey said, waving the idea away. “Very safe. It is far away from Hogsmeade, so you probably won’t even be able to smell it, and the house is well secured. You’ll be perfectly safe there, as will people around you.” She smiled gently. “Are you hungry?” 

Remus shook his head. “No…” He forced on a small smile, looking at her. “I get a little nauseous right before…” A little was not the correct adjective, but he found that when he admitted how much his pre-moon sickness affected him, people would look at him with pity, and he could not stand pity. “I’ll eat a lot when I’m feeling better though, I promise…” 

The older woman nodded and she looked at him. Her hands twitched a bit. It was the same thing his mother did when she wanted to hug him, to comfort him, but knew he might not react well to that. Or, perhaps, that he might lash out. Remus liked to think the second was not the case though. “Well,” Madam Pomfrey said after a few moments of only slightly uncomfortable silence, “I suppose we should get going. Everyone will be in the Great Hall by now.” She stood up and collected her cloak, leaving Remus’ change of clothes on her desk. She turned to Remus as he stood up. “Do you need a cloak?” 

“I’ll be fine, thank you…” Remus said with the same forced smile. He followed her as she walked out of the wing, heading down the steps to the front doors. They moved outside, and Remus took a deep breath as the cold air hit him. It did not feel bad, kind of nice actually. Remus had never been overly bothered by the cold. Perhaps because he was usually overheating instead. He let out the breath he’d been holding, watching as it spilled out and dissipated into the cold. They were halfway to the Gamekeeper’s hut when Madam Pomfrey stopped, standing a safe distance from the Whomping Willow. Dumbledore had told him it would be planted for him, and that it would be used to protect the entrance to the place where Remus would be transforming. He had seen the tree when the Gryffindors had Herbology, but now that he was there, standing right next to the tree, he felt very small and very intimidated. 

The tree began to move, as though he knew the pair were standing nearby. It raised its branches menacingly, daring either of them to get closer. Madam Pomfrey let out an exasperated sigh as a thick branch swung out mere inches from them, a move which made Remus jump back a bit. He could not help but be impressed with her levelheadedness. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at a knot in the tree. Remus was so distracted by the waving branches he did not get a chance to hear what she said. Suddenly the tree froze, and the school healer moved towards it. As Remus got closer he slowly could see the hidden door near the trunk of the tree. Madam Pomfrey looked around before she opened it and down they went. 

The tunnel seemed to go forever, and after a while Remus started feeling claustrophobic. Were the walls coming in, or was he hallucinating that? He started pulling on the sleeves of his robes, a nervous habit that annoyed his mother, playing with the hems of them gently. He was about to ask if they could turn around, that he would take his chances at the castle, when Madam Pomfrey opened a door. Remus moved in through it. “This is a house,” Remus said stupidly. He had been told it was a house not an hour before, but he thought it would be a dummy house; with the outside looking like the other homes in Hogsmeade while the inside was empty. But this was a house. It had walls and rooms and furniture. This was a house. Remus couldn’t quite get his mind around the thought. 

“Mm-hm,” Madam Pomfrey said promptly, looking at him. “Is this alright?” 

“Yes,” Remus said quickly, moving in. “It’s great. I’ve just… won’t Professor Dumbledore be upset… some of this stuff looks rather expensive. I’ll probably break it all.” 

“Don’t you worry about that,” the healer told him gently, moving over and touching his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “This is a safe place for you to transform. You can break anything and everything in here. Just try not to break yourself, alright?” She smiled towards him, and he could not help but smile back. She looked at her watch and she let out a sigh, pulling her hand off his shoulder. Remus subconsciously leaned closer then mentally shook himself as Madam Pomfrey stepped back. “I have to be going. Will you be alright by yourself?” 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Remus said. She nodded and said her goodbyes before she turned back the way they had come and left. 

It was not until she was gone that he realized how silent the house was. He could not hear the animals outside, not even the crickets that he knew were chirping beyond the window. It was an eerie feeling, but Remus would not care soon enough. He let out a breath and looked around, looking for a nice high place. Once he spotted a bureau on the other side of the room he undressed. He pulled off each layer of clothing and folded it up nice and neat. He had to stand on his tippy toes, pushing his clothes safely toward the back of the bureau, with any luck he wouldn’t disturb them during the night. Now that he was at school he could not replace them as easily as he would at home, and he did not feel like darning them in front of his new roommates. 

Now he was cold. He shivered as he stood naked in the middle of the room. He considered going to explore the rest of the house when he suddenly felt it. 

There weren’t words to properly explain how he knew the moon was out. He had once told his mother it was like a monster sneaking up in the dark. The tingling in his skin came first, spreading out from the left side of his chest and throughout his entire body. As it spread, the tingling turned into an itch, one that was bone deep and made him desperate to scratch at his skin. He knew better than to give in to the feeling, knowing he was likely to make himself bleed if he did. He was just getting used to the itching, stretching feeling when the first bone cracked. He tried his best to swallow down a cry, but it escaped his lips despite his best efforts. Falling to the floor, he curled into himself, his legs in sudden agony. The pain washed over him in ever-building waves, and, with another crack, his arms gave way. The pain blurred together as the cracking and shifting of bones became more frequent. 

Remus could hear himself screaming, the sound echoing off the walls as he thrashed against the wooden floor. His throat felt raw, but he couldn’t stop, his mouth tasting like copper as it began to elongate. His tongue sliced itself on a newly formed fang as his claws dug into the wood, feeling it splinter under still forming paws. 

His field of vision shrank to two tunnels of bright light in front of him, darkness encroaching upon the edges, and he gratefully sank into it, letting go of the pain and setting free the beast that was climbing out of him. 

\---

When Remus woke up in the morning, his entire body was sore. He ignored the wet sticky feeling as he lifted his head off the floor, cracking one eye open. Sparks of light flashed across his vision and he tried to focus on something, anything. His body felt too heavy, slumping back down as he lost consciousness again. 

The next time he woke up Remus was being roused by someone, feeling their arms carefully wrap around him as they pulling him into a sitting position. He let out a yell as his head started throbbing. He could hear words, someone trying to speak to him, but their meaning was lost to him as he slipped back into the darkness. 

The third time he woke up he was being carried. They were outside, and he could see the sun peeking over the top of the trees, lighting up the forest near the school grounds. He blinked blearily at it, having just enough time to appreciate the way the colors crept across the sky, before he laid his head back and fell asleep. 

The fourth time Remus woke up he was in a bed. He sat up slowly and looked bemusedly at the blankets that covered his body, letting out a slow breath. The room smelled clean and he looked around, recognizing the Hospital Wing instantly. He smelled something else too, and turning to the nightstand he spotted a bowl of oatmeal and a stack of biscuits along with a glass of water. He could not help but smile a bit at the tray and thinking of what he had said to Madam Pomfrey the night before. He slowly laid down again, feeling dizzy and sore. His legs throbbed strongest of all, and a small part of him wondered if he should check to see if there was any lasting damage. The idea gradually slipped from his mind as he curled back into the blankets. He felt so warm and safe, and decided assessing the night’s injuries could wait… and once more, Remus fell asleep.


	11. Peter

The first week of classes had felt like a blur of professors, books, and quills that felt too small and clumsy in his hands. He had already managed to snap three of them, the metal nibs making a huge mess when they plopped onto parchment or clothing, and the charm to repair them was already wearing off. It was all Peter could do to stare forlornly at the scroll of parchment in his lap instead of climbing into bed and sleeping the entire disaster away. How was he supposed to fill seven inches of this with the importance of wand and wrist control while performing basic transfiguration spells? He could barely remember the swishy patterns they had been told to practice.

Sitting across the common room was James Potter, who looked just as confused as Peter felt by the class assignment, glancing between several textbooks and then back to his parchment, eyebrows furrowed together. His hair was even messier than normal from the multiple times James had run his hands through it and there was a wide smudge of ink across his cheek. At least Peter wasn’t the only one who felt overwhelmed by the amount of information he was expected to learn; his primary school had done little in preparing him for knowing the difference between “firm decisive wand movements” and “flailing about willy-nilly.”

Maybe he could just write in big, loopy letters instead of his normal tiny scrawl. He’d probably only get half marks from the professor, but it would be better than turning in nothing.

Remus had already climbed up the stairs to their dormitory claiming that he was tired and turning in early, or else Peter would have asked him for help. After a week at Hogwarts, Remus was the only person Peter could really consider a friend. While James was polite whenever they sat together during classes, but Peter still felt a twinge of nervousness at being around him. Sirius only glared at him whenever he’d tried to start a conversation, and Peter had a feeling that if they were found alone in some deserted hallway or classroom, the other boy would hex him. Somehow, Remus had managed to befriend both of them, an accomplishment he was still trying to puzzle out.

His attachment to Remus had become painfully apparent when the other boy had been away for nearly the entire weekend, coming back sometime before lunch on Monday looking exhausted. Peter tried not to focus on how worn out he looked, or to stare too long at the bruises that were just barely hidden beneath his school robes. Most of the other Gryffindors didn’t seem to pay him any mind, but Peter couldn’t ignore the jumpy, nervous change to his behavior. Remus had mumbled something about his mum being ill and that he didn’t want to talk about it before hiding away behind the curtains of his four poster bed, avoiding everyone whenever he could.

It caused a burst of anger to coil in Peter’s stomach. He had seen someone else act that way before. Whenever his mum had gone through a bad run in with his father, she would find excuses for wearing jumpers, or laugh saying was trying to get over a head cold saying that was why her eyes were so puffy. Or when he needed to think up excuses to his primary teachers about why he wore the same clothing three days in a row. Remus’ behavior was something he was wholly used to seeing -- it frightened him and made Peter want to befriend and help the other Gryffindor even more.

He shook his head, dislodging the heavy thoughts.

After an hour Peter had nearly chewed his bottom lip raw, hastily copying everything he could about wand movements from his _Standard Book of Spells_ textbook, not really seeing the words. It was tricky trying to make his handwriting take up more space on the parchment without looking too sloppy, his g’s and y’s becoming loopier and the spaces between each word a little bigger than normal. There was still another inch to go, but he felt it acceptable for its purposes. Shaking out the cramp in his hand he packed up his books and quills, dashing back up to the dormitory.

Remus’ curtains were still drawn, but he could hear the muffled sound of pages being turned and the occasional muttering coming from within. He was still awake then. Good.

Peter walked over to the other boy’s bed and cleared his throat loudly, waiting until he heard  Remus’ quiet “come in.” He sat stock still in his bed, still wearing his day clothes and clutching his transfiguration book to his chest, eyes wide.

Peter cleared his throat again. “I, um, I was wondering if you could read over my transfiguration essay? I don’t think I’ve got the wording quite right and Professor McGonagall...” He trailed off, biting his bottom lip. Peter was not about to admit that he found the professor intimidating, especially not to Remus.

Some of the tension bled out of Remus’ shoulders as Peter kept his eyes focused on the other boy’s face, deliberately ignoring the dark bruise that was barely hidden under the collar of his shirt. Peter knew his smile looked a little forced, but he tried to keep it in place anyway, eyes flickering to the edge of Remus’ bed, unsure if he should sit down or not. Belatedly, Remus seemed to realize that Peter was waiting for an invitation to join him and quickly shoved his books and parchment out of the way.

“Oh, sure. Yeah. I haven’t started on mine yet though.” Remus fidgeted anxiously but  there was a smile underneath his wariness.

“I mostly copied out of _Standard Book of Spells_ for mine.” Peter admitted sheepishly, smiling.

“Should have gone with _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ , would have had an easier time of it.” Remus’ tone was sarcastic but not mocking and he took the proffered bit of parchment from Peter’s hands, skimming over it. “You need change this part here; you said ‘wand movement is vital in ensuring correct _charms_ ’. And, uh, here you wrote about hovering charms.”

Peter winced, taking back his essay, looking at the mistakes that needed to be corrected. “I probably should rewrite it then?”

“Probably.” Remus smiled.

“It’s not due until the day after tomorrow. Do you want to go to the library tomorrow after supper and work on it together?”

“Sure, we can do that.”

“Are you behind on anything?” Peter asked, tilting his chin towards the pile of books and parchment. “You were only gone for a few days.”

“Just Herbology. Professor Sprout said that I missed the proper technique, for, um…”

“Correct handling puffapods to prevent them from flowering accidentally.”

“Yeah, that.”

They fell into a amicable silence, after that, both working on their class assignments in the quiet of the dormitory. After a time the door opened again, Sirius quietly walking over to his trunk, collecting a vibrant green quill and some parchment. He spared a glance at Remus and Peter before rummaging for some ink.

“You’re free to join us if you want.”

Peter’s head whipped around to stare at Remus, then back at Sirius. The boy had a shocked expression on his face but nodded, smiling a little at Remus and moving to sit on the floor next to one of Remus' bedposts. He seemed as surprised as Peter felt about joining them, quietly opening his book and dipping his quill in a pot of ink. Remus nudged at Peter’s leg, giving him a pointed look before nodding to Sirius.

“I -- uh -- I left my essay downstairs.” Peter stumbled off the bed, making a beeline for the dormitory door, ignoring Remus as he raised up the parchment, a confused expression on his face.

* * *

It was early morning, sunlight barely beginning to fill the dormitory, when Peter snuck out of bed. He supposed it wasn’t really considered sneaking, it wasn’t like any of the other boys were going to tattle on him to their head of house, and James’ bed was already empty. Even so he felt the need to tiptoe, quietly dressing and careful not to wake anyone on his journey down to the common room and out the portrait door.

The Fat Lady mumbled something about needing beauty sleep, but all Peter could think about was the letter he had gotten the previous morning from his mother. Remus had given him an inquisitive look when he promptly hid it in his robes but didn’t ask questions, he was a good friend like that, Remus knew when Peter needed to talk and when he needed to be left alone.

He hadn’t opened the letter until returning to his dormitory, quickly shutting the curtains of his four poster to ensure no one else would see. Peter hoped that her letter would be good, but there was a gnawing fear working its way through his gut. He wasn’t there to divert his father’s attention anymore, and depending on how much he had visited the local pub his temper could range from snide remarks to an all out inferno. His mother had been careful with her wording, focusing on Peter’s school experiences instead of telling him how things were at home. She was proud to hear that he had been placed in Gryffindor and was certain he would make more friends soon. She had ended the letter promising to write more when she could and that she was eagerly awaiting his reply.

Not a word had been mentioned about his father.

Peter walked past the Great Hall, ignoring his stomach rumble at the smell of food. It was still early and he could always come back later and eat. The doors leading out to the grounds were still closed, but not barred, and with a bit of effort he managed to heave one open enough to slip through, hoping that it wouldn’t be locked when he came back.

The morning was chilly, mist clinging to the hillsides and slicking the grass beneath his feet. It was quiet outside, the only sounds coming from the nearby forest and his own heavy breathing as he trudged up the path to the owlery.

The steps leading up the lone tower were well worn, tiny grooves in the stone from thousands of feet traversing the steps. It was oddly comforting to know that he wasn’t the only one to have made the walk, and more than likely not the only student to sneak out in order to send a letter when no one was looking.

The room was warmer than he expected, smelling like damp earth, loose straw, and animals, which Peter supposed made sense. Finding the cleanest corner he sat down, taking out a crumpled quill, ink, and some parchment. He couldn’t place why he didn’t want the other boys to see him writing to his mother, he’d seen James and Sirius writing letters and had no doubt Remus had done the same while hiding within his four poster bed, but the idea of being seen was enough to make his shoulders hunch forward and his stomach twist in knots.

Peter smoothed his hands over the parchment and began writing;

_Mum,_

_I got your letter yesterday morning. I’m relieved to hear that Mrs Johnson has been keeping you company since I have been away at school, please tell her I said hello._

_Classes here are much different than at home, but the professors are helping those of us new to all of these subjects, which helps tremendously. My school time table gives me ample time between classes, which is very useful considering the distance between some of them. I have yet to explore the school grounds which are very large, but I will soon. Professor Slughorn asked that I wish you well and says that he hopes I do as well in his classes as you did. So far they are proving tricky, but I should get the hang of it soon._

_The other boys in my year have been friendly, especially Remus Lupin. I think you would like him, he’s very kind and clever. He went to visit his family this past weekend due to his mother feeling ill, I hope that she recovers quickly._

_There isn’t a post office on the school grounds so I will need to deliver my letters by owl, but I will be sure to write you again soon to update you on how things progress as the school term continues._

_Love,_

_Peter_

He reread the letter twice, making sure that there was no mentioning of spells or magic should his father read it first. He knew where Peter was attending school of course, but there was no reason to potentially aggravate him further.

He carefully blew at the ink to dry it and then folded it to fit in an envelope. Most of the owls were still asleep, nestled together for warmth, however there was a tawny owl which seemed to be watching him curiously, its eyes blinking slowly.

“If I give you this letter will you be certain to only give it to Glenys Pettigrew? If my dad gets it…” Peter trailed off looking back at the letter in his hands. This was ridiculous, the owl wouldn’t think to give it to one Pettigrew over another. Maybe if he addressed it to his mother with her maiden name.

The owl gently nipped at Peter’s fingers, hooting softly. It held out a clawed foot, blinking slowly.

“Alright…” Peter handed the letter over and let out a shaky breath. “Remember, Glenys Pettigrew.”

The owl hooted once more then flew out of the owlery, disappearing into the fading morning mist.


	12. James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by highandlonelydestiny who can be found at desiprongspotter on tumblr.

James Potter had always been in possession of a particularly good family.

His Amma was his favorite person in the whole wide world, for reasons that he could spend hours harping on and on about, and his Appa was just as good, even though he was at work a little more than James would like. His Appa was an Auror, with the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, and hearing his stories about raids and cases were well worth missing him at dinners sometimes. At least Amma was always around, brewing Potions for a mail order company, and he could come running into her lab whenever he liked for some company, when home.

He’d enjoyed living with his grandparents for the last two years as well, since Appa was working a rather nasty case and didn’t want him getting caught in the middle of it. Amma had been quite upset about it, but had eventually decided that James would be better off learning magic the way both she and his father had, before Hogwarts. So, off he’d gone to his grandparents. Radha Patti was strict, but she was the best at helping with homework, and James had never complained when Hari Thatha snuck him sweets when she wasn’t looking.

All in all, James Potter had never really known trouble on the family front, but watching Remus Lupin slink into their second class of the day, looking quite apologetic, gave him quite a bit of cause to wonder if his friend had.

Remus looked quite horrid, James mused, as his friend took a seat and pulled his notes out of his bag, as if he hadn’t been late at all. The best description James could come up with is that Remus looked like he’d lost a fight with an aruvaamanai, but he didn’t think his friend would be very enthusiastic about being told he looked like he’d fought a coconut grater and the coconut grater had won.

“Hey, Remus!” James called out, as they were leaving class, running forward to catch up. Remus slowed his pace just slightly, which he was endlessly thankful for. He leaned in closer, dropping his voice to a whisper, before asking “Is everything okay at home?”

Remus blinked at him a moment and looked at him, eyebrows knitting together as he did. "Yes...?" Remus said slowly, his upper lip moving as he chewed on the back of it.

"Oh!" Remus suddenly exclaimed, clarity coming into his eyes. "Yes, yes everything's fine... well, not fine. My mum is sick... not sure when or if she's going to get better... so I get to visit her, y'know. Just in case it's the last time."

“Oh.” James said, quite embarrassed to have forced his friend into revealing something he seemed upset about. He would have patted Remus’ shoulder, at any other time, but he worried that his friend might shatter to pieces. That, in addition to the fact that he’d likely just pissed Remus off, left him to go with the safer option-- nodding sympathetically. “I’m sorry about your mum. That’s got to suck.”

James couldn’t imagine losing his mother-- she was the most fun person he knew and the nicest to boot, always having food or a good prank idea on hand, and he couldn’t imagine how living with just Appa would be. Probably a lot quieter. James hated quiet. And now Remus might have to face that.

“Thanks.” Remus said, looking a little relieved. James broke into a grin, happy to have solved the problem he started.

“You didn’t miss any work, did you? ‘Cause I can try and help out, if you need the help.” James shrugged. This is what you did with friends, right? Offer them help to catch up with school if they’d been gone awhile. Save for the kids he played cricket with back home in Thanjavur, James hadn’t had any school friends in awhile. “Not that you need my help, I mean, you look pretty smart.”

Remus looked quite confused, so that obviously wasn’t the right offer to make. No way was James going to be honest about the friend thing, since he needed to make a good impression. He didn’t look desperate for friends, did he? Oh boy.

“We could meet in the library.” Remus spoke up, and James brightened up. “Or the common room.”

“The library’s nice! Let’s work there!” James cheered internally. Now all he had to do was make sure Peter and Sirius were okay with him, and he’d have three friends within the first term! Imagine that!

* * *

The common room was beginning to empty when Peter approached James’ table, gnawing on his bottom lip. “Can, um, can I talk to you for a bit? In, um, in private?”

“Of course.” James seemed quite surprised that Peter would approach him at all, nervously running a hand through his hair. “No problem.”

Peter looked around the common room, making sure than no one was listening. “Have you talked with Remus lately? I’m worried…”

“He went home and he has bruises now and I don’t think they were an accident like he says and I want to talk to my mum about it but my dad will get upset with her if I bring up Hogwarts in a letter, but we have to do something, don’t we?” The words coming out in a rush, as though Peter needed to say them all before he changed his mind.

“We do.” James said resolutely. “Something bad happened, and someone’s got to get to the bottom of it, or it’ll just get worse.”

Peter’s shoulders sagged with relief as he let out a long breath. “Good. Right. How do we do that?”

“I guess we talk to Remus, first.” James shrugged. “You have any ideas?”

“I tried talking to him earlier, but he just kept bringing up his mum being ill and that he wasn’t paying attention around the house.” Peter shuffled his feet, looking down at the floor. “But, I know those kinds of bruises. They don’t just happen from being clumsy.”

“Somebody hurt him.” James said quietly. “And they meant to do it.”

Peter nodded, staring at a spot next in front of his feet.

“You know Remus the best out of all of us, so… how do you think we should talk to him?” James asked. “I mean, you can’t just come out and ask this kind of thing.”

Peter swallowed, glancing up at James. “I… I don’t know. I just don’t want him to be hurt anymore.”

“I don’t either.” James nodded. “He’s our friend, I mean, we can’t let bad stuff happen to him. That’s what being friends means.”

“If it happens again I think we should... “ Peter scrunched up his face thinking. “Mum called it an inter… intervention? Where we sit him down and try to find a way to help.”

“Are there snacks at interventions?” James asked, looking quite thoughtful. “Remus probably needs snacks. And me too. But mostly for Remus.”

“We can bring snacks…” Peter looked thoughtful. “You don’t eat much.”

“I do.” James shrugged, scratching the back of his head. “Just not used to the food here yet, I guess.”

“Oh.” Peter looked surprised. “Maybe they can

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, we appreciate you reading! We’d love to hear your feedback either here or on tumblr.

**Author's Note:**

> We appreciate you reading! We’d love to hear your feedback either here or on tumblr. We're very excited to be starting this fic, and your feedback and kudos will only make it better!


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